Ours
by La Sorelli
Summary: In Kay's Phantom, after Christine has Charles, the doctor says they can never have any more children. Well, I have always hated that part of the story. It's not fair to poor Raoul to never have a child with her of his own. So I'm altering things. Review!
1. Chapter 1

"I'm sorry Mr. Chagny…but there mustn't be any more children. Another child will quite likely kill your young wife."

I stared at the British doctor before me in a dazed stupor. He looked at me like one might look at a small, confused child. _This cannot be happening._

"You do understand me, sir?"

"I understand…" I muttered.

"Then I hope you will take care to never put her in risk of conceiving again." He shifted uncomfortably, "you _do _know what I mean by that, yes?"

"Of course I know!" I snipped at him, offended that he thought me to be so careless and ignorant, as if my passionate French blood would prevent me from being mindful of my own wife's health. He saw that I was deeply troubled and excused himself. Yet really, he had no idea why I was so upset.

I slumped on to the bench outside Christine's room, the bench that I had spent the greater part of the day sitting upon. I buried my face in my hands, no longer with the horror of listening to her screaming in pain, but now trapped in a strange silence. I thought of the child who had entered the world today, of his perfect skin and wavy black hair, more hair than I had ever seen on an infant. Every time I started to think about him, I remembered. He didn't belong to me. I thought of the picture of the man I kept hidden in a desk drawer. The baby looked like him. He did not look like Christine, nor did he look like his father. I repeatedly thanked God for that throughout the day, for not cursing this child with his father's unfortunate appearance. He would be a very beautiful child and one day an extremely handsome man. He would be our child, our only child…and he was not mine. I would never have one to be mine. Christine and I would never have anything that was only ours.

_Why could he not be mine?_

I burst into tears that I could no longer hold back, sobs echoing through the hallways.


	2. Chapter 2

Charles. That was the name I decided upon the next morning. It seemed like a good, simple name, a strong name. I was so exhausted from not sleeping for so many days, that I really did not give it much consideration. The doctor had returned early so that the legal birth certificate could be properly completed. He was extremely wary of me today, taking great care not to upset me again. He sat quietly next to me on the sofa in our small parlor, carefully filling out the birth certificate.

"I nearly forgot. Would you like the child to have a middle name?" he asked after everything else was filled in.

"Oh…" I had not thought of that. I'd pulled the name 'Charles' out of nowhere, coming up with another seemed impossible. "I am not sure. "

"Perhaps you should ask your wife, then?"

"She is still asleep."

"Ah, of course, and we would not want to wake her." He carefully blew on the certificate so that the ink could dry, "I will leave it here with you, so that you can speak to her. When you decide you can simply mail it in to the London registrar's office. You may also want to have a certificate transcribed in French, in case you should ever return to Paris." He gathered up his things into his formal leather bag, handing me the paper. "I will be back in a few days to see how she and the child are doing. All right?"

"Thank you, doctor." I nodded tiredly.

I walked him to the front door, putting on his hat he turned to me and said;

"I am very sorry sir, for everything. But please, take care of yourself, will you?"

With a tip of his hat, he was gone. I went upstairs, knowing I should sleep, but instead I went into Christine's room. I looked at her sleeping, much of her beautiful coloring had returned to her face. Her delicate body seemed to have already returned to its perfect feminine form. She was perfect and I could never lie with her again. It was a horrible feeling, knowing that I would never be able to have my own wife. We had been married for less than a year and already the marriage would become a celibate, passionless union. I could not help but think that if it were my child that things would be different.

But even with such bitter thoughts, I lay down next to her. I stared into her gorgeous, sleeping face and held her small hand in mine, kissing it softly. I could not resist her. She was the only one for me, no matter what should happen. I watched her sleep, as I had been for days. I never fell asleep myself. I watched her for several, peaceful moments until she began to stir. She opened her blue eyes and looked at me, for the first time in a week.

"Hello you." She whispered.

"How do you feel?" I asked her immediately.

"I feel fine."

"Are you certain?" I could hear the anxiety in my own voice. She laughed softly.

"Raoul, I am certain." She put her hand on my cheek. I clutched it tightly, holding it to my skin fervently. "You need a shave, dear." She teased lightly.

"Christine..." all my emotions poured out in the syllables of that name…_that perfect name_. The name of the only person I had ever loved so vastly. "Oh, God, Christine I thought I would lose you."

"No, you will never lose me." She put her arms around my neck. "I am so sorry I frightened you, Raoul."

"If you had died…" I could not finish my sentence; I was so overcome with love. Even my sadness seemed to slip away in that instance. She kissed me gently, stroking my rough, unshaven cheek.

"I love you." she said, as if it were the simplest fact in the entire world.

I didn't need to say anything else after that. There were no more words. I buried my face into her soft neck and shoulder and there she held me, never letting go.


End file.
